If we were to move to Melbourne......advice please :)

So, the chances of this happening are slim, but netherless il like to be prepared. DH was just approached by a Melbourne company (they came looking for him) and have offered a very appealing wage for him tobwork for them (both our current total wages). We aren't sure if we want to move interstate, but if we were to consider it we have a lot to find out - initially it would all come down to location.

1. Where are decent areas to live that are within driving distance of the city? Decent for us would include good public schools
2. Do any of these areas have reasonable house prices?
3. If anyone has ever lived in SA and melb - what is the difference in cost of living (I know it's more in melb - but how much more?)

I know there is heaps more to know than that, but these are the main things I'm researching at the moment.

Closer you are to city more $$ houses get. Driving to and from city sucks you would be much better to make sure you lived close to public transport.

I live out western suburbs and love it many nice suburbs and many dodgy like all areas. We are only 5 stops on train to city, 20 min drive in good traffic 70 mins in bad!!

The difference in cost of living between SA and Melb is significant from what I've seen. Melbourne is expensive housing wise. The west is cheaper, and has some really nice suburbs, and still close to the city, so that's where I'd look. Suburbs like Yarraville, Seddon, Kensington are all really nice.

It depends, up where I live (north eastern suburbs), the drive would be 40 to 50 minutes, but there is a rail line that will take you about 30 to 40 minutes. It is lovely up here, lots of trees, parks, good schools, and shops. House prices I can't help you with, but rents are pretty reasonable for a good area.

Questions for your questions:-

1. What (other than good PS) does "decent" mean to you when it comes to areas to live? Parks? Crime level? Facilities? Church? Library? Independent shops? Shopping centre? Pool? Restaurants? Local pub? Public transport? Play centre? Hospital? Cinema? Gym? Farmers' market?

2. What do you think of, when you think of a house you'd like to buy? A separate block? Yard? Garage? Two stories? Two bathrooms? Four bedrooms? Two living areas? What are essentials and what are negotiable?

3. What for you is "driving distance"?

4. What is a reasonable house price?

5. What over all are the negotiables? (eg: I would rather travel an hour each way to work, than give up having a great big yard, as I have two dogs, two boys and a sports mad husband! But I was willing to give up living close to a station to be able to afford a 4th bedroom ...)

It would depend on what you call a decent price for housing. I'm about 30km from the CBD and the median house price in my suburb is over $500k.

Inner suburban you could expect to add another $250k plus.

If you move, I recommend renting for a year. It means you can assess areas, schools etc yourself while not being tied to a certain area too early. You then save on things like stamp duty if you discover you don't like an area and want to move.

PN has some great questions to help. I know a friend who moved from Melbourne to Adelaide was able to get more house for her money. Melbourne is more expensive, but if the pay is more then maybe it works out financially.

And of course, Melbourne rocks :)

My inlaws live in doncaster and warrandyte areas. Love the location, 15mins frm city but houses there are 800 plus. Not sure abt rent prices though but mel is so nice and luscious and people rush less there as opposd to syd that is :-)

Doncaster to city in 15 min??? Is this with absolutely zero traffic? Google says 20 min, on any given day I'd call that more like 30+. Ever since I've moved to Melbourne I consider anything further than Brunswick or Abbotsford outer suburbs :lol:

+1 to the suggestions about renting for a while first and also about considering the West.

I've lived in the CBD, mid-NEast and inner West at different times and they've all had different pros and cons.

There's been massive growth in the inner west lately but I think it's still better value than a lot of the inner north, south and east. The west can be very light on services the further out you go though so the more 'established' eastern suburbs may be worth the price premium to you.

Think really carefully about exactly where, when and how you want to travel. Peak hour traffic can be retched and the cost of taking tollways can really add up. Inner city parking is also not cheap. Personally I'm a huge fan of public transport but some areas are again not well served and on many train lines you will struggle to get standing room let alone a seat during peak hour.

That said I love Melbourne. Never lived in SA so can't offer any direct comparisons.

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Doncaster to city in 15 min??? Is this with absolutely zero traffic? Google says 20 min, on any given day I'd call that more like 30+. Ever since I've moved to Melbourne I consider anything further than Brunswick or Abbotsford outer suburbs :lol:

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If the freeway is light you could.

Where will he be working and how long is a reasonable commute for him Chody?

I do Blackburn to the city in about 17 min in non peak hour so it depends where you are in Doncaster.

I second the Idea of living near work or PT.

Wow, that's so far away. I stand corrected. Cars = black magic. Although peak hour would be feral, I assume that's when most people are going to and from.

We made the move from
SA to Vic over 10 years ago. We originally moved to Eltham because it reminded us of home. Then about 3 years ago we moved to A neighboring suburb and love it.

We didn't find price of living too dramatically different. Even when I compare thing now, I think it almost evens out in many areas. Rent is a little more expensive here but food seems more expensive in SA. Petrol is roughly the same.

Travel wise, depends on where you live but Vic has excellent public transport in terms of it covers a large part of the state. I don't catch public transport but I hear a lot of people complain about it!

If your DH is working in the city, parking is expensive but not sure how it compares to SA. There are some good cheap early bird rates around though. Travel time in peak hour via car stinks.

Thanks for the advice everyone. DH has decided not to take the job at the current time (although he hasn't made it official yet). I'll look here again when/if we decide to move.

Oh, and just to clarify, DH would have to drive into the city as hr would have a company car and carpark.....

Some jobs allow the flexibility of non peak hr times. That might be something to consider if your DH wants to drive. For example, he starts later and finishes later or starts earlier and finishes earlier to avoid peak periods?

ugh. unless there was some reason why I needed to have a work car, I'd be telling them to keep it, and put the value of it back into my pay packet!

if the job is in the city, the time to drive into work is often longer than the time it takes on the train (trams and buses can be the same or longer!) and I use the time on the train ... I read, I do emails, I catch with friends and catch up, I doze (when I've been up all night feeding little ones!) and I can't do *any* of those things in my car!

but if the move isn't happening, this is all moot ;)

PZ it would take me longer to drive to Coles than it would to walk when I lived in Windsor. But I can get from hoddle to my house in less than 15 mins off peak. 30 minutes peak.

I spent more time in annoying traffic when living inner city than I ever do where we are now. And I'm pretty central to everything. And everything is weirdly 30 mins from us. We very rarely need to travel longer than 30 mins to get anywhere.